It sounds as if someone in the Obama administration has been re-reading George F. Kennan, who (as I noted in my column) advocated a policy of “containing” Russian expansionism — but always giving Moscow’s rulers a face-saving way to back down.

“It is a sine qua non of successful dealing with Russia that the foreign government in question should remain at all times cool and collected,” Kennan wrote in 1947, “and that its demands on Russian policy should be put forward in such a manner as to leave the way open for a compliance not too detrimental to Russian prestige.”

What does that mean in 2014, when Russian troops have occupied the Crimean peninsula (once part of Russia, now part of Ukraine) and threatened intervention to protect Russian-speakers elsewhere whether they need protection or not?

In the short run, it means taking the optimistic view that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been surprised by the volume of foreign opposition his moves produced, and might be willing to accept the offer of some “off-ramps” to help deescalate the crisis.

In that spirit, the administration wants to send international observers into Crimea to protect the rights of Russian-speakers there, thus meeting one of Putin’s concerns and allowing all those soldiers in Russian uniforms to return to their barracks.

And the administration hopes to persuade Putin to view Ukraine’s presidential election, scheduled for May 25, as a vehicle for putting a new government in place. (Putin says the current government in Kiev isn’t legitimate, although he doesn’t seem to think ousted President Viktor Yanukovich has a political future either.)

Meanwhile, the Obama administration hopes to build support in Europe for more economic and political sanctions against Russia, especially sanctions targeted at the bank accounts of oligarchs in Putin’s inner circle; but not to impose them just yet, mostly to use them as a threat.

Will any of this work? Too early to tell. One key factor limiting Western pressure on Putin is the hesitance of European countries whose economic interests in Russia are greater than ours. The European Union is meeting Thursday to consider sanctions.

One small optimistic sign: So far, the Ukraine crisis hasn’t spilled over into Russian policy on other issues such as Syria and Iran. Russia and the United States were already at odds over Syria, but on one issue — Syria’s promise to relinquish chemical weapons — they’re still cooperating. And there’s been no sign of Russia walking away from the six-nation alliance pressuring Iran to curtail its nuclear enrichment program. It’s not a full-scale Cold War yet.

Ukraine's worst unrest since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union was sparked by ousted President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to scrap a deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

By Sara Lessley, guest blogger Well, what a surprise: Ukrainian strongman Viktor Yanukovich had a palace. A really, really nice country estate a few miles out of town. That thousands of previously banned average Ukrainians stampeded to check out after he, uh, left town in a big hurry in late February....

Ukraine is now strong enough to seize the initiative to create a lasting cease-fire in its Donbas Rust Belt, currently occupied by Russia and its proxies. And Russia may be weak enough to be receptive. It is in Kiev's interest to do so. A state of permanent war with Russia would damage Ukraine's...

Foreign policy is traditionally not a hot topic for presidential primary candidates this early in the game, so I was surprised to receive a request recently to talk about Russia from one of the often-mentioned candidates. But, of course, it is not too early. The United States no longer has the...

In response to the Russian threat, Western leaders at the recent NATO summit reiterated their commitment to defending alliance members in the Baltic and Eastern Europe from aggression. This reaffirmation of NATO's core promise is essential in the short term. But it requires fundamental reconsideration...

Twenty years ago in Budapest, Hungary, leaders of the United States, Russia, Britain and Ukraine signed a memorandum on nuclear weapons and Ukrainian security. It committed Ukraine to remove nuclear arms from its territory and join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as a nonnuclear-weapon state...

With Russian tanks and other military equipment rolling into Ukraine, Kiev is learning the hard way that when you reside in a nasty neighborhood it doesn't pay to get rid of nuclear weapons without ironclad security guarantees. But that is exactly what it did in December 1994 when it agreed to...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron have rightly turned down Vladimir Putin's invitation to go to Moscow on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allies' victory in Europe, and President Obama may soon follow suit.